Who is This Jimmy Walker Guy and Why is He Dominating the PGA Tour? Plus, Big Name Players Skipping Big Events and What Can Local Golfers Do This Time of the Year?

The early stages of every new golf season usually provide more answers than questions as players settle in for the grind that is the PGA Tour and get ready for the first major of the season, The Masters, in April.

But the one question that is uniting golf fans everywhere in mid-February: Who in the heck is Jimmy Walker?

PEBBLE BEACH, CA - FEBRUARY 09: Jimmy Walker walks to the seventh hole tee box during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at the Pebble Beach Golf Links on February 9, 2014 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Walker has turned the golf world on its ear so far this season with a trio of wins in eight tournaments, the latest triumph coming at Pebble Beach last week.

I talked with 4 Deep Golf Blog's Joel Harrington this week and asked him about Walker: Who is this guy? Where did he come from? Can he keep winning?

With the PGA Tour moving into Los Angeles this week, Joel told me you better believe Walker is the hands down favorite at Riviera, but not just because of what's he's accomplished this season:

World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play at the Golf Club at Dove Mountain on February 24, 2013 in Marana, Arizona. (Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images)

The next big deal on the golf calendar is the World Golf Championships - Match Play event in Arizona.

But has been the case with a lot of events so far early in the season, the tournament is making news because of who's not playing rather than who is. No Tiger. No Phil. No Adam Scott in the field next week:

For local golfers, our lousy winter weather has kept us inside this season, but there are a couple of big indoor events coming up next weekend, including the Great Plains Golf Expo at the Sioux Falls Convention Center February 22nd and 23rd, complete with seminars, demos, contests, and even golf simulators:

If you've got the need to be a bit more competitive this time of the year, Golf Addiction in Sioux Falls is holding their four-person scramble event next weekend, with Spyglass Hill the featured course on the simulator: